..tIn', UM€4t' C. ef cJ (WII) I(Exp\OVl~ -the ,.- (OJAd~e of- sdevcJ+\c I\-tevzx~ "\) ea.d-I~. 18 "Struggling Up Mount Improbable" r A Cautionary (Implementation) Tale of a Vision II Scientific Literacy Curriculum in South Africa Jonathan Clark, Jennifer M. Case, Norman Davies, Gillian Sheridan, and Rene Toerien Introduction Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? T. S. Eliot There seems little doubt that the scientific literacy "movement" will playa signific- ant role in years to come in the reconceptualization of school science. Fensham (2007), for one, draws on a range of arguments to support the position that radical change is needed (see also Aikenhead, 1996; Jenkins, 2007; Osborne, 2004, 2007). As this process gains momentum, no doubt much too will be written. Yet we suspect that most of the work will focus on school science within the context of education in the First World. Our concern in this chapter lies elsewhere-with our own South African con- text-and it is quite a particular one at that. Not only does our education system span such a range of First World and Third World contexts, it is also one in con- siderable flux. For we have awakened, like Rip Van Winkle, from what amounts to a decades-long curriculum slumber, to find a system awash with change. Thrust (as it were) into the present, we are faced with numerous challenges, many of which are exemplified by the situation in science education where we have adopted a visionary, context-driven, multiscience perspective curriculum. It is the scientific literacy aspirations of our new school science curriculum, and the implementation thereof, which we will examine in this chapter. The object of our case study is a new topic in the curriculum-Chemical Systems-which represents, in our opinion, the strongest manifestation of sci- entific literacy ideals. This topic was the focus of a materials development project based at a local university, which had as a key component the trialing of materials in a number of schools. In this chapter we focus on two of these school contexts: Mount View High, a private school in the city; and Dune High, a government school in the townships. The experiences of project staff and a teacher will be told through a number of narrative accounts which in turn will form the basis for the analysis that follows. tJ'-f . "Struggling Up Mount Improbable" 273 Before embarking on this (curriculum) journey, we provide those unfamiliar with our South African context a brief "situation report" into the present state of our school science curriculum. A Visionary Tale: School Science Education in (the New) South Africa The post-apartheid reform of education policy in South Africa has centered on democratic ideals and the need to address the manifest inequities in the system. The major focus of curriculum reform at the school level has been guided by the .philosophy of outcomes-based education (OBE). Reforms are centered on an ambitious plan entitled Curriculum 2005 that intends to revolutionize schooling through the introduction of a curriculum that is learner-centered, holistic, unbi- ased, integrated, and relevant, to develop critical citizens who can participate actively and responsibly in a multicultural society (Department of Education, 1997). This is to be achieved by adopting a model of transformational outcomes- based education. Teaching and learning, according to the tenets of OBE, will replace the all-too-ubiquitous pedagogical style of rote learning so prevalent under apartheid (Mason, 1999). By 2007, implementation of the new science curriculum had reached grade II, the penultimate year of schooling. The principles of OBE find expression in each subject area, in a number of learning outcomes (LOs). In physical sciences, there are three, focused respectively on: science process skills (L01), scientific know- ledge (L02), and science and society (L03). Together they represent a new orien- tation for school science, where the scientific literacy perspective has been heartily embraced (specifically in L03). Clearly, the new physical sciences curriculum is aspiration al, and represents a Significant shift from the traditional content-focused one of the past. Yet, it is cer- tainly not without its problems, and critique has centered primarily on the appropriateness of OBE for the South African context, with a growing concern around implementation practicalities (see, for example, Jansen, 1998; Mason, 1999; Rogan, 2007). Many of their concerns are captured in the following extract from a reflective narrative written by a teacher at Dune High. Narrative 1: "Adrift on.a Sea of Change"-Experiencing a New Grade 11 Physical Science The teacher had many years of experience as a senior science teacher at township secondary schools. He had been in close contact with the university-based team from the outset of the project and had readily offered to pilot the material in his two grade 11 classes. So finally, after years of waiting, curriculum change had finally reached grade 11. And what a change it was to be, the new physical sciences curriculum clearly represented a quite fundamental shift in both form and function from the one that teachers had long grown accustomed to.